Live While You Can
by Mithua
Summary: The Dark Age has come, a reign of terror will unfold, you have to live while you can. *NEW CHAPTER*
1. Prologue Eight Years

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and co all belong to JK Rowling. They don't belong to me.

A/N: Hi everybody! How are you all? Good I hope! Anyways, I decided to write yet another fic (I have way too many unfinished ones I know, but I promise I will finish them)! I decided to do an H/H since I haven't written one of those in eons. This fic is kind of a songfic, but not exactly one either. Hopefully, this fic will live up to your expectations!

_To Gary Skinner – The Boy Who Waited!_

Live While You Can.

By Mithua

Prologue:

The silvery light of the moon slithered over and placed an ethereal glow on the land. Bright white dots littered the sky, like the effect you would get of you ran you finger across a brush with paint. A cool wind whistled through the trees and skated the surface of the lake, creating the most fragile of ripples. At the edge of the lush green trees, a hearty fire could be seen, as the smoke rose up the chimney and the loud singing of the resident gamekeeper could be heard, often with the accompaniment howling from his faithful companion.   

As the day slept, the night would awaken. The occasional owls could be seen waking from their slumber and stretching their wings. They would glide quietly in the sky, soundless as they caught their prey. The odd cat would be seen, slinking by the side of the trees, their large yellow-amber eyes shining like headlights in the night.

The once wild Whomping Willow Tree now swayed gently with the wind, as if listening to a sweet and tender tune that only the she could hear. If one looked closely enough – without getting hit by her branches – you could surely see the grandmotherly smile play on the trunk of the Willow. Her leaves, now a vibrant green colour as was of season framed her face and gave her the life we see in her. As winter time was often a rather depressing time for the old tree.

Beyond the tree, a large hoop could be seen shimmering in the light. Glowing in the moonlight and radiating with a familiar excitement one felt when passing by there. The hoops were completely surrounded with pillars. Pillars of different colours. Blue, yellow, green and red. These pillars were enough to occupy everyone in the infamous castle.

Ah, the castle. It stood in all its glory on top of the rocky hill. The silver-black water glided by the side of the castle, and its ripples would sometimes reflect on the old stone which had a mysterious shine to it. The occasional fire from inside the castle would flicker and shine as a golden hue amongst the dark stone latched with green moss. The magnificence of the castle was immense. It had many a tower and on top of everyone, the looming grotesque shapes of gargoyles could be seen. Giving the castle a slight gothic taste to it. The gargoyles were part of the castle and gave it the magical feel that was so blatantly felt when one looked upon the building. On the uppermost tower, a wind vane could be seen – the arrow currently facing to the south. 

Yes, this was Hogwarts. 

A shadow stood by the edge of the dark Forbidden Forest, contemplating as he looked towards the castle. Many memories running though his head. The happy memories, the sad memories, indeed even the scariest of memories. He lifted his head to a large window at the top of one tower. By that window stood an elderly warlock. White beard running down the length of his body, blue eyes twinkling solemnly behind half-moon spectacles. But as he looked down at the shadow by the forest, he gave a slight nod. With that the figure by the forest suddenly disappeared, as if he had the gift of invisibility. With that, the figure said his farewell to the place he had once called home.

Chapter 1: Eight Years

It had been 8 years since the disappearance of Harry Potter had shocked the wizarding world. In all honesty, the wizarding world was in a peck of panic. The Boy Who Lived had always been their light in the dark. He gave all other wizards and witches courage to be themselves and fight for justice. He had faced of with Voldemort numerous times during his life and survived to tell his tale. Him, a boy who was still _training to become a wizard, when so many fully qualified and powerful witches and wizards had died in their first encounter with the Dark Lord._

Many rumours had been spread about The Boy Who Lived. Some of the silly and ignorant wizards had said The Dark Lord had kidnapped him and murdered him. Being as powerful as he was, Voldemort would never traipse into Hogwarts and steal a pupil right under Albus Dumbledore's nose. Some people were suspicious of Dumbledore. He never showed the merest hint of frustration or worry when Harry disappeared. Some people wondered if Harry had gone into secret training to become an Unspeakable. But that was cancelled out when even the Unspeakables proclaimed that they had been searching for him. 

Some blame was put, if a little unfairly on Draco Malfoy. It was no secret that Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had been rivals at school. Draco Malfoy was often interrogated out of school by wizards and witches but he often gave the same reply. "I don't know where the git is." Though many would have liked to see the Malfoy behind bars, there was nothing against Malfoy except a petty school rivalry –which wasn't serious enough to be placed under custody.

But there were only two souls that were worried the most about Harry Potter, their best friend. Ron and Hermione were beyond distressed when they found out that their friend was no longer anywhere near Hogwarts. They don't know how long they had talked to Dumbledore that day. And even he seemed to have lost the mirth that usually came natural to him. But they had been sent home in dismay. That train trip was especially hard, having just finished Hogwarts and with no familiar black haired boy who would laugh and joke with them. That year had been particularly depressing. Ron couldn't be approached as his temperament was unpredictable. Only Hermione seemed to be able to talk to him calmly. But she wasn't any better. Her health was suffering as she hadn't eaten properly in a long time. And the usual shine in her eyes had died. 

It had been two year before they had finally managed to pull themselves together by someone they least expected to help them. The bastard of Slytherin himself had personally cracked through their shells and helped Hermione and Ron pull themselves together. Draco had shattered the barrier that had once kept them separated. It came as a shock to all as he had spoken the most effective words Hermione and Ron heard.

"Potter may very well be scarred for life when he sees you two again. And he has enough scars as it is to last a lifetime, so no need to add to it!" 

"He's not coming back Malfoy." Ron had replied dully.

"And do you know why it seems that he's not coming back?" Draco asked angrily as his eyes glared as his once enemies.

"It's because you two are wallowing in you own fucking self pity that you're refusing to see any hope. I really don't see how you two can be his best friends if you're even thinking of giving up hope." Draco had seethed and walked away angrily.

That whole night, the two of them never slept a wink. Not that they had seeing as they were in depression, but this time, it was Draco's words that had kept them awake.

Since then, Ron and Hermione shared a mutual understanding with Draco Malfoy, even if they did snipe at each other from time to time. 

Having to get their lives back in track was no difficult feat. Fred and George made sure that their brother didn't sink into depression by giving him a job at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. And Mrs Weasley made sure Hermione ate properly again, and Professor Dumbledore was more that willing to offer Hermione a job as The Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher. At first Hermione wasn't sure if she would be able to handle the job back at Hogwarts, but she was soon swayed to agree as Ginny had pleaded for company in Hogsmeade. She worked at The Three Broomsticks and she told her it would be nice to see an old friend every now and again.

The two were now happier than they had been in a long time. The topic if Harry Potter was often a sensitive issue to them and they refused to comment when anyone asked them about him.

It was 6 years before could finally talk about him again.

A/N: Please R/R!   


	2. The Corner of The Three Broomsticks

Chapter 2: The Corner of The Three Broomsticks.

It was cold. The wind was piercing and raw. Strong and relentless. It blew a can across the pavement, but the tinny sound was droned out by the thunder overhead. The continuous drumming of the thunder was more than a little frightening. The rain pounded on the roofs of many homes. To those inside, it was a relaxing beat to listen to, but to those who braved the storm, it was a bloody nightmare! The streets were forming little rivulets and a flood seemed inevitable. Claps of lightening illuminated the sky, making the black and purple clouds shine. This was the worst storm that had hit Hogsmeade in a decade. 

Finally, everyone came to a mutual agreement that anyone who was outside in this storm had a definite death wish. The streets were completely deserted and the bright glows from blazing fires could be seen inside every home.

But the local pub was still open. The Three Broomsticks was not as busy tonight. But the few that were inside drank hearty drinks of Mulled Mead, and the odd Firewhiskey.  It warmed the drinkers right down to the core. Madam Rosmerta still stood at the bar, wiping glasses and serving up drinks as happily as she had done years before. The only signs of age seen one her was the mellow wrinkle and a vivid strip of white in her dark hair. Even if age didn't show profoundly, she still needed help and that came in the form of Ginny Weasley, who was just as cheery as her employer.

Only a few of the locals sat by the pub fireplace. One of the locals was the Keeper of Keys and Gamekeeper of Hogwarts, Rubeus Hagrid. He was yet another figure of old in the pub. His shaggy black hair and beard were now tinted with grey, but he was still as lively as he ever had been. He had even lost a little weight, which was good since he was a bit on the tubby side a few years back.

Another local of six years was Hermione Granger. She was a professor up at Hogwarts and prided herself with the fact that she had been the only Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts to go on for longer than a year. She was mentioned in the revised addition of 'Hogwarts: A History.' She had been very proud at that fact, and Ron had laughed happily when she came running up to him one day with the book proclaiming "I'm in it!" It was quite an accomplishment because she was muggle-born. And with these darker days, she had been targets for the Death Eater's that roamed around the land surreptitiously. Despite the dark days, she had grown from an intelligent girl to a very respectable woman.

"The storm's getting worse. Maybe we should head back to the school Hagrid." Her eyes gazing out of the darkened window.

Hagrid turned to look outside and the grim prospect of having to walk back to Hogwarts did not appeal to him at all. But they both couldn't afford to be sick for their classes tomorrow, so they decided faint heartedly to brave the storm and head back to the school. 

With cloaks and hoods at the ready, the two stepped into the storm and closed the door as gently as they could. This was rather difficult as the wind seemed to want them to slam it shut. They traipsed on the pavement and avoided the deep puddles that were becoming bigger by the second. They stumbled on the paths and knocked into someone by accident, after a quick apology they went on onwards. Soon enough, they reached the edge of the grounds of Hogwarts. Hermione and Hagrid said their goodbye's as Hagrid headed for his hut and Hermione headed for the large school building.

The next few days continued to be stormy. The lake had now overflowed and the giant squid made frequent appearances to the surface as it was as wet as it was underwater. The Quidditch matches and practices had all been cancelled as anyone on a broomstick could have been blown off to the rocky coast of the country. Herbology continued as usual in the greenhouses, but Care of Magical Creatures had been cancelled until further notice. 

A full week and a half later, the rain started to subside. The rough wind was gentler and even though it was still cloudy, it wasn't as overcast as it had been. The pupils were more than happy when they were actually allowed outside the castle. A Hogsmeade trip was organised for the weekend, and as usual, Hermione had volunteered to chaperone. It would be nice to get out of the castle for a while. And catch up on news with Ginny.

The days waxed and waned until Saturday finally came. A few dozen horseless carriages were made ready for the pupils to take them to Hogsmeade station. As soon as she stepped off the carriage, she saw the swarm of pupils rush in all directions in Hogsmeade.  She smiled as she saw them dart from Zonko's, to Honeydukes. Those were the places that most pupils visited first. She shook her head and made her way to The Three Broomsticks.

The warmth from the fire was pleasant on her face. It was a bit nippy outside. She took off her cloak and headed for the barstool where she usually sat at. Ginny smiled as she sat down.

"The usual?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, thank you." Hermione replied as Ginny started to prepare her Butterbeer.

"So how've you been Hermione?" Ginny asked as she served the drink.

"Not bad. Keeping busy, doing this and that." Hermione replied taking as sip from her drink.

"Where's Madam Rosmerta?" Hermione asked noticing her absence.

"Poor lady's off with the flu. I actually sent her back home this morning when she came in here croaking like a frog." Ginny said.

The two women conversed more. Until a pupils started to pile in wanting some drinks. When Ginny went off to serve them, Hermione went to her own table and took a copy of The Daily Prophet that was on the magazine table. She hadn't been able to get a single copy throughout the whole storm as owls refused to travel in such wild weather conditions. 

Hermione grimaced at the front page.

**Muggle-born Murders!**   

News like this was becoming more and more frequent in the wizarding world. It was a sharp stab in the back that reminded everyone that Voldemort was out there. And he would to anything to gain power and see the world go his way. Hermione read through the article, her hatred for the Dark Lord increasing with each painful line she read.

***

The man lit his cigarette. How he hated this habit. But as times of stress, one would do anything to calm himself down. And it helped, but only a little. He sat at the corner, as quiet as possible. And remained quite plainly unseen. Such luxuries as sitting in a pub smoking a cigarette would never have been possible for his a few years back. Indeed, finding a safe place to sleep had been difficult. Most nights spent on cold stone or a muddy forest floor because money to rent a room for the night wasn't available. And it was dangerous. There are eye's everywhere, and they can lead you to your death if you aren't careful. Appearance was another thing. You had to appear as common as you could be, that is if you wanted to appear at all. He could maybe pass as an inconspicuous Auror right now. The wear and tear on his robes and cloak would be a very believable lie to tell. But being to remain hidden without anyone else's knowledge was difficult. But if one had the proper _clothing it could be done. _

But to anyone who may notice him right now. He would look like a man double his actually age. His hair had long ago failed to be cut. And so it just grew. A long shaggy mop, which actually was quite useful to him. He could see why Bill Weasley never wanted his long hair cut. And his beard. He needed to get it trimmed. Badly. It was rather long. He really didn't look like the 25 year old man that he was.   

The door bells jingled as the door was opened. His eyes darted to the door from behind his hood. It had become a natural instinct; anyone could be a potential threat to him. And to his horror, this person was more than a potential threat. 

The woman with the hazel eyes, her cheeks rosy from being out in the cold, her bushy brown hair a little longer from when he had last seen her, her front teeth of a perfect size. 'Oh…bugger.' The man kept his face in the shadows and kept his hood well over his face. But it was at times like these that whatever he really wanted, the opposite would happen. Hopefully that wouldn't happen this time round. 

The man watched the woman from the corner of his eyes.  She was talking with the barmaid. Luckily, Madam Rosmerta had served him before Ginny came in. That was just sheer luck. But many memories slipped through his head. Sitting in this very same pub after a cold day, sipping on drinks and talking excitedly about the next Quidditch match at hand, or talking about your concerns. The man slipped back to reality to see the woman so recognisable as Hermione Granger walking towards a single booth. Newspaper in hand.  Still the man watched her. A small smile crept on his face. She was bluffing now. She knew he was looking at her. It wasn't natural for one's eyes to be so focused on one spot of the newspaper for 15 minutes. He lifted his head, letting a little more light shine on his face, but kept his hood low. And his eyes shaded. 

***

Hermione felt uncomfortable. That man had been looking at her for quite some time now, and she hated it. Hopefully he'd go away soon enough. It was very agitating.  The bell to the door rung again and in came a scruffy looking Hagrid. An idea formed in her mind. 

"Hey Hagrid! Care to join me?" Hermione asked the half giant. 

"Sure thing 'mione!" he said as he went to order his drink. 

Hermione smiled. She then risked a glance at the corner of the pub, to find that the man had disappeared. She nearly did a double take. He had been there a second ago. But when Hagrid came to sit down with her, she stumbled out of her reverie. But outside, on the streets of Hogsmeade, a man forgave the two people who had walked into him, that stormy night.  

***

A/N: What do you think? I tried to make this chapter kind of long! Hope it was successful! Anyways, please R/R!


	3. Archibald Hemming

Chapter 3: Archibald Hemming.

The man walked down the streets of Hogsmeade. It was heart-warming to see all the pupils of Hogwarts hurriedly walking down streets chatting or gossiping about the latest scandal that hit their school. He smiled as he saw Honeydukes filled to the brim with pupils, in awe with the new flavour introduced to Berty Botts Every Flavoured Beans. He headed towards the Owl Post Office and saw over a dozen owls waiting to be of use. He sighed a little. He had left his own beloved owl behind. She was now becoming a bit too old for the long journeys for his letters.

_Dear Albus,_

_I've finally managed to get back to __Britain__. I'm sorry that I couldn't contact you earlier but I had no owl and I barely have money to send this owl to you. I'm starting to get suspicious looks around here, so I doubt I can stay here long. I have much important news that can't write here, so I would like to meet with you. I know it is dangerous for me to even be near Hogsmeade, but this is really important._

_Archie._

_P.S: Please give Hagrid some warning. Cuthbert told me that Hagrid nearly shot him when he wandered on to the grounds._

The man called Archie sent the small tawny owl off. Under usual circumstances, he wouldn't have written the letter so blatantly because there was every chance that the owl may be intercepted. But it was a highly unlikely chance that the owl would even be noticed flying from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts. 

Archie stepped out of the Owl Post Office and apparated to a little cave on a hill, wheresome years ago a dog named Snuffles lived. 

***

It rained, rained some more, and rained yet again. If anything, Christmas looked as if it was going to be quite dismal this year. The wind whistled through the trees and brought it cold sub-zero temperatures, a little gift from Siberia. Archie sat warmly by a fire he had conjured. His gloves were holey and he wasn't the best at repairing cloths. Repairing bones, maybe, but clothes was a big no no. 

Dumbledore still hadn't got back to him. Archie didn't blame him though. The aging warlock was always swarmed with owls from the Cornelius Fudge, the bugger. He still has no idea about what to do and with the slowly increasing power that Voldemort was gaining; he was more than a little worried.

But finally it came.

_Dear Archie,_

_My apologies for not replying sooner. I hope you are in good health! And that your journey here wasn't too strenuous. But I wish to go straight into business. I must insist that you come to Hogwarts immediately. Best come tomorrow as a vast number of pupils are going home for the holidays. You are of course; welcome to stay at Hogwarts and rest. I realise these past few years have been very hard for you, and it is my wish that you stay here and catch up on our news also._

_Might I also suggest that you come to Hogwarts as Archie, and leave as Harry Potter to more than just Sirius, Remus and myself? _

_Albus._

_P.S: Cuthbert really did bring that upon himself! _

Archie folded up his letter and sighed. 'And here I was thinking that it was going to be a peaceful Christmas, if such a thing ever exists.' Truth be told, Harry was utterly terrified of being reunited with so many friends. He had of course had the company of Cuthbert, but he was often staying in Britain while he was roaming other places which were possibly going to sink into Voldemort's side. 

He really could tell which was worse; Voldemort's wrath, or Ron and Hermione's.

***

Archie shivered as he stepped out of the cave. It had snowed overnight and he was absolutely freezing. Cursing his luck, he apparated to Hogsmeade station. He then started to trudge through the knee deep snow. He couldn't believe it was such a heavy snowfall last night. But he continued. He must have been quite a sight. A human-sized version of Hagrid wading through the snow. He climbed the steps carefully as they were really slippery. And the last thing he wanted right now was to trip and twist his ankle. Even though he had been through much worse situations before.  

Finally Archie reached the door and pulled it open. He wiped his boots on the mat and took off his hood. Some snow had managed to settle on his messy long hair, and he shook it off. If you looked, it was strangely reminiscent to a dog. He made sure, that his hair covered the majority of his forehead, and made sure that his glasses weren't the usual round shape. 

"Excuse me, can I help you?" asked a voice from the stairs. Archie looked up and saw Hermione looking down at him.

"I'm here to see Professor Dumbledore." Archie replied hoarsely. Hoping he sounded as un-Harry like as possible.

"Professor Dumbledore is currently at a meeting. You are welcome to wait Mr…" Hermione trailed off.

"Hemming. Archibald Hemming." 

"Well Mr Hemming, I'll take you to his office. You can wait there." Hermione replied. She turned and indicated for him to follow her. Archie followed but at a notable distance. He kept his eyes mainly on the floor and refused to make eye contact with anything else in the hallway. Even the paintings and the suits of armours were ignored. He didn't notice when Hermione would glance back at him. She was more than a little suspicious of him. She had seen him before at The Three Broomsticks. What business could he possibly have with Dumbledore?

They finally reached the front of Dumbledore's office and Hermione uttered the password: 'mint imperials.' A stair case was revealed and she loved so that Archie would have space to enter. As soon as he was standing on a step, he started moving upwards on the stairs like and escalator. Archie looked up, his hair moving slightly to the side. Hermione's head snapped up at him just before he disappeared up. 

'Those eyes, they're so green.'

Archie started to breathe again. He had been so tense with Hermione around.  He waited outside the door and lit a cigarette. That was a bit too close to his liking. Sure, she'd find out soon, but that would be later. Or if he could get away with it, she wouldn't ever have to know that he had returned to Hogwarts. He waited outside the door and continued smoking on his cigarette. Until the door finally opened. Out of instinct, he hid in the shadows and stumped out his cigarette. 

"Thank you very much for your time Albus." Came the voice of Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic.

"It was my pleasure. I only hope that I have helped but a little." Albus replied.

"Well, I must be off. Goodbye Albus." 

"Goodbye Minister." Albus replied. The two men watched the Minister off down the staircase. And heard him mutter to himself 'rather smoky in this corridor.' Archie sniggered once he was out of sight and stepped into the light.

"Welcome home, Harry Potter."

***

A/N: Hiya all! I hope you liked that chapter! I'm sorry it was so short, but I'm trying to make this easier for both me and you by not putting too much in one chapter! And I want o finish this before the 5th book comes out and whatnot (I linger on fics a bit to long for my liking)! Please R/R!

      


	4. Good Evening Professor Granger

Chapter 4: Good Evening Professor Granger.

Archie stepped into Albus' office. He looked around and saw that the room hadn't changed one bit since he had left 8 years ago. He saw a baby Fawkes in a bed of his own ash and Archie greeted the new born.  The circular room still had all the portraits, gadgets and books by its walls. 

"Would you like some tea?" Albus asked as he sat down, indicating that Archie should sit down also.

"Yes please. Haven't had the stuff in ages." Archie replied. A tray of tea and biscuits appeared on the desk before them. Albus poured out tea for both of them. He then waited for Archie to speak. And he did, for hours on end. And the news was not pleasant. It was very grim as the death toll seemed to be increasing in European countries. The worst thing being, that the people murdered were people with useful information, and Voldemort seemed to be making it very clear that no one else would find out what he had found out from them. Albus sat, contemplating about what to do next. He looked up.

"Would you be willing to share this information with the Order?" Albus asked. Archie frowned. 

"I'm not too sure. The Order is already on overdrive here. That fool of a minister can't handle the situation right now. The Order pays for his mistakes, which are pretty major ones. I don't think it will be capable of handling both of our situations." Archie replied truthfully.

"You may be right. But I still think the Order should be informed of this. Many of the countries you have mentioned are closely linked with our own. And it wouldn't have to everyone in the Order. Only a select few that often have to go abroad for Order purposes." Albus said to him. Archie still frowned.

"I will not force you tell of course. You do what you think is best." Albus said finally. "And a word of what we have spoken of will not leave this room. I will burn my beard before I say a word of this to any other person save you." Archie smiled up at the elderly wizard.

"So, where is Cuthbert nowadays? I haven't seen him in a long time. He isn't avoiding me now is he?" Archie asked with some mischief in his eyes. Albus laughed.

"You may not believe me, but he has taken a liking to the Weasley's. But he'll never admit it." Archie's jaw dropped. He then grinned evilly.

"Oh, this is too good." He said rubbing his hands.

"But Cuthbert is currently on his way to Hogwarts as we speak. Having no where to stay for Christmas is depressing."

"Does Hermione work here? She seems to be lingering around Hogsmeade a lot."

"Miss Granger is our Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. If you have read the revised edition of _Hogwarts: A History you will have seen her mentioned there." He confirmed with an amused twinkle in his eye. However a shadow of sadness swept him._

"Will you come out of your shell to more than just Sirius, Remus and myself?" Dumbledore suddenly asked. Archie looked up at the old headmaster. He wasn't precisely sure. If he came and left with no questions asked, there would be inconvenience. For both himself and his friends. But his friends really had a right to know what happened to him, even if that meant a lot of anger. And one thing was for sure, they would try to stop him going away. Or, if they couldn't stop him, go with him. And Harry never wanted that to happen. 

"I really don't know Albus." Archie replied truthfully. The older man smiled.

"Well, it is really up to you. I'm sure you'll make the right decision when the time comes." There was a bit of a silence afterwards.

"So, I hear a new flavour has been added to Berty Botts Every Flavour Beans!" 

The men continued talking idly, just like the old days. It was nice to be able to have a conversation with someone who you knew wasn't going to kill you the next minute, and who already knew exactly who you were. Finally, a knock was heard on the door, and it opened to reveal a tiny house elf. 

"Excuse me sir, but Guest of Master's bedroom is ready sir." The tiny female house elf squeaked.

"Splendid. Archie, if you will follow Grippy she will lead you to your room." 

"Thank you Albus." Archie replied. Albus walked them to the door. But he stopped Archie for a second.

"A meeting will be held the day after tomorrow with the Order on the 3rd floor at 9pm. You are more than welcome to attend." Dumbledore said before he left. Archie nodded and started to follow the little house elf. 

As they walked to the room he couldn't help but notice some similarities in this elf and Dobby. The way she waked and wore her tea cosy. It was scarily familiar. But after a long silence and 4 floors above Dumbledore's Office, they reached a tapestry of a dragon, which went from the ceiling to the floor. 

"Poppycock!" the little house elf squeaked. The tapestry flung to the side to reveal a wall which moulded into an archway. 

The archway led to a fairly large dome shaped room. It was a very modest type of living room. Red in colour with candles flickering, giving it an orange glow. It had a simple fireplace, a few couches, a fairly large sofa, a desk and bookshelf. One corridor left the room, with a small flight of stairs, and Grippy led him over there, and opened one of three doors. 

Archie's room consisted of a four-poster bed, a large circular window, a desk, a trunk and a door that led to a shared bathroom. It laws painted a deep red, and looked very homey. 

"This is your room Master Hemming. I is sorry that I could not get you your own room, but all the other rooms is for other guests arriving, and some rooms disappear from castle every half hour." The House elf squeaked up at him.

"Thank you Grippy. But, who am I sharing this room with?" Archie asked politely.

"Professor Granger, sir. If you need Grippy's help, just whistle." Grippy replied squeakily and took off after that.

Archie stood by the door way. He didn't have the heart to ask to change rooms. But he wanted to spend time _away from his friends. Because he would either let something slip and end up telling them everything about him or he'd cave in anyway and tell them everything about him. 'Great!' he thought as he collapsed onto his bed. At this rate, it seemed inevitable that he'd be spilling the beans, about everything.    _

***

Hermione was more than a little annoyed. She had lost the privacy of her own room to a strange man who smelled a little and had been watching her in The Three Broomsticks. It was just a tad distressing. Who was he? Where did he come from? What was he doing here? Hermione shook her head, and tried to continue reading her book. But even the book couldn't drag her out of reality, so she slammed it shut it annoyance. She strived to do something. 

Maybe visit Hagrid: no, he was away running an errand for Dumbledore.

Get something to eat: she wasn't to hungry.

Mark some papers: she had done them all a week ago.

Wrap some presents: they had been wrapped and ready by the end of November!

Visit Dobby: He was on his vacation right now.

Write some letters to the Weasley's: they were coming over tomorrow, so there really was no point.

Write a letter to Draco: he was always disappearing off somewhere and he seemed really busy at the moment. 

Hermione sighed and headed up to her room; she could at least try and get to know the stranger known only as Archibald Hemming. She headed through many flights of stairs and finally found the familiar tapestry. Uttering the password, she entered the room and placed her book back in her bookshelf. He didn't seem to be there yet, and so she collapsed onto the sofa. She muttered an incantation under her breath and soon, relaxing music filled the room. She closed her eyes, and relaxed. It was because of this that she never head the light footsteps coming down the stairs.

Archie saw Hermione lying on the sofa, eyes closed and her foot bouncing to the beat of the music filled room. A smile broke on his face. He hadn't seen his friend relaxed like this in a long time. It was as if they were 15 again and Hermione was in the common room, listening to the music that only she could hear. She had turned to music as relaxation, because the exams were stressful. He and Ron would often see her bopping around the common room when she thought no one was there. It was quite funny actually, and they had done some impressions of her. She had only laughed and proclaimed that she was and always would be a bad dancer.

Archie was overcome with a desire to tell Hermione everything and go back to the old days. It would have been ideal. A Christmas reunion at Hogwarts. But right now, he couldn't let that happen. But he couldn't resist the urge to talk to her again.

He cleared his throat politely. She snapped straight back up and the music came to a sudden stop. Her cheeks tinged a little in embarrassment. 

"Good Evening, Professor Granger." 

***

A/N: Hi everybody! I'm having fun writing this and I hope you all like it too. So, Archie and Hermione sharing a room. God only knows what that'll lead to…well, that's al lie, I also know what will happen! So, if you want to find out…please review!

   _   _


	5. Cuthbert Farthing and the Weasley's

Chapter 5: Cuthbert Farthing and the Weasley's.

Archie smiled at the startled Professor. She was blushing, one of those rare occasions. Hermione rarely got embarrassed about anything.

"Good Evening Mr Hemming." Hermione managed to reply back in as composed a manner possible.

"I hope you don't mind me staying here a couple of nights." Archie apologised.

"No, no problem at all." Hermione lied, very much like Professor Snape, she valued her privacy.

"Well I'm glad to hear it. I'll just be off for now," the scruffy man said and made his way through the archway. 

As soon as he had exited and his footsteps could no longer be heard, Hermione collapsed back into the couch.

This was going to be awkward.

***

The sun rose illuminating the sky and over powering all other stars. Its golden path shone onto the snow topped castle, showering it with a pale yellow glow. Hagrid's hut was seen in the shadows. Smoke coming from the chimney indicated a warm fire burning. Archie cherished the view. It had been many years since he had last seen it. But now that he was back, he didn't want to leave.

The man stepped back from the window. He had made the bed. Something that he hadn't done in ages. He hoped he hadn't insulted the House Elves in any way, but one can miss many things when out in the wild. He knew for sure that Hermione would be chuffed with that!

Archie stepped out of the room and wandered the corridors down into the Dining Hall. As he opened the door, he stopped as he saw the familiar figure there. 

"Cuthbert!" Archie exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I trek halfway across the world for that?" Cuthbert said in mock exasperation.

The two grinned, then launched at each other in a huge hug. They hadn't seen each other in years. But they had kept in contact, both for personal reasons and for their mission.

"How've you been 'Bert?" Archie asked as they sat down.

"Not too bad. It's nice to get a little break." He replied, while helping himself to some toast. 

"My buddy Albus has let me in on a little secret though," Archie said grinning smugly at Cuthbert, who raised his eyebrow in suspicion. 

"What?"

"The Weasley's…"Archie's grin got wider. Cuthbert tinged red. And muttered something under his breath which sounded strangely like "I'm going to kill him…"

Archie just laughed heartily at his friend. 

 They sat and talked. It had been nearly 6 years since they had last talked face to face. And it was good to finally see each other after so many years. Especially, since it was Christmas time, it felt like they were school pupils again, meeting for Christmas dinner.

After breakfast the wandered the snow covered grounds. The snow was actually waist high, but Cuthbert had cast a spell so that they could walk above the snow. Which Archie was more than grateful for. He really did need to learn that spell, but then again, he spent most of his time underground or in shaded woods or caverns. 

"So, I take it you're going to the Order Meeting tonight." Archie stated more than asked.

"I am, and I know that Albus wants you to come as well." Cuthbert replied.

"I've tried my hardest to stay away from those meetings." Archie commented.

"Despite what you may think, the Order has the smarter witches and wizards on their side, and that fool Fudge has no idea that a syndicate like that even exists. I don't think you really have to worry." Cuthbert replied honestly. "I also think that you're life of loneliness is unbearable and that you should at least tell some trustworthy people." 

Archie groaned at the repeated words. That was exactly what Dumbledore had said. 

***

"Draco!" a voice called from behind the two men. They turned around to see a mass of redheads head in their direction.

"Shit!" Archie cursed silently and made sure that a good portion of his hair covered his head. 

Cuthbert chuckled silently, "Don't worry, that thing on your head that you call hair covers up more than enough of your face." 

Archie would have hit him, had it not been for the Weasley's. 

"Hello Draco dear," Mrs Weasley greeted in a motherly tone.

"Head's up!" called a voice, and out of instinct, Archie and Cuthbert ducked as a few dozen snowballs pelted their way. Draco snickered.

"Fred! George! Behave!" She scolded but couldn't help laughing at the antics. Hogwarts still had that affect of getting fully grown men to act childish, but with Fred and George, it seemed to amplify tenfold!

"You're going to have to be a lot sharper than that if you expect to hit me," Draco grinned and the disgruntled look on their faces. 

"Ah, I see you have a friend with you Draco," Mr Weasley noted the scruffy man behind Draco.

"Yes, Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley, let me introduce to Mr Archibald Hemming. Archie, these are my loyal friends, Arthur and Molly Weasley and their children." Draco introduced them. Bill, Charlie and Percy seemed a little miffed at being referred to as 'children.' Draco just gave them a look that simply said, 'it's the truth.'

"Pleasure to meet you sir, madam." Archie nodded at them.

"Yes, and you too dear," Molly replied.

 "Well, I'm freezing out here, let's go back to the castle, I've got a bone to settle with Hermione," Ginny said, chattering her teeth.

With that, the family of redheads, Draco and Archie headed back into the castle. Once inside the castle, they were greeted to a warm fire in the Dining Hall, and nearly all the teachers in the school had come to greet them. Percy would be talking vigorously with Professor McGonagall. They were somewhat alike, very much into their work, but had interests which not a lot of people knew of. Arthur and Molly could be seen talking to Albus at the teacher's table with idle calming chatter. Surprisingly to Archie, Bill was talking to Severus quite warmly. Although Severus still had his cold demeanour about him, if you looked quite closely, it looked as if he enjoyed bill's company. Charlie seemed to be talking animatedly with Hagrid, and Hagrid seemed slightly envious of Charlie and his dragon work. Fred and George were conversing with Madam Hooch who looked quite thrilled at the fact that they had come up with some new ingenious prank. She had enjoyed their pranks, a lot when they were in school, but had never actually told them until after they left. As promised, Ginny was talking to Hermione in the corner. Archie noticed that his name entered in their conversation a lot, and he wasn't so surprised. It's not everyday a mysterious figure comes to a pub and then pops up in a Magic School. Ron was sitting by the fireplace with Cuthbert. It was really ironic to see the once school rivals by family, sit together civilly by the fireplace. Archie smirked, Cuthbert blushed a lot when around Ron, and it was heart-warming. 

Archie himself stood by the shadows, his ability to merge with them was incredible; absolutely no one noticed him unless they were looking really hard. Archie really felt at home again. His friends here at Hogwarts, celebrating as the snow fell outside. It was very calming. The fire crackling, merry laughter, warmth…he wished it would last. 

***

A/N: Hi everyone, I'm seriously sorry for the lack of updates. I had much schoolwork and my muses left me to go off an play bingo, so I was left all alone ::waits for a wave of sympathy::. Well, I know this chapter seems slightly pointless, but I wanted to try and get things moving along. I actually have a decent plot for this fic, so I just needed to introduce some more of the characters. I'm sorry that I'm a little rusty on it too, I haven't been writing anything creative whatsoever in ages! And…You FINALLY know who Cuthbert is! Although you might have already known, I've finally told you now! But never fear, I will be introducing more characters with codenames! I just hope you can keep up with who's who!

Reviews would be greatly appreciated!  


	6. The Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 6: The Order of the Phoenix.

The day passed and the aged school felt like home. Jovial chattering and laughter filled the halls, on might have thought that the school was once again filled to the brim with its magical students. But as the day slowly turned to night, a more sombre atmosphere engulfed the castle as a fairly large proportion of the castle's inhabitants made their way into a large octagonal room. 

The room was fairly dark with no windows and only one set of doors. There was a large hearty fireplace to the left side of the room, desks were set in a semi-circular shape around it. It was a fairly blank room of black, and the lighting was quite dim. Indeed, the only light that really came was from the fireplace itself. 

The Weasley's, Albus, Draco and Severus had all come to enter the room, and Minerva kindly agreed to wait outside for the other members of the Order to arrive. Cuthbert was a little disappointed to see that Archie hadn't agreed to come yet, and was silently cursing him. But, it really was Archie's decision and he wouldn't blab it out to the Order without his comrade's consent. 

Albus too was looking at the door constantly, hoping that the man would burst through the doors any minute. But it did not seem too likely. 

As the minutes passed, many others entered the room. Amos Diggory had come. Ever since his son's death, he had sworn to avenge him. It wasn't exactly too healthy as he was nearly sent into St Mungo's for becoming so obsessed with the Dark Lord's downfall, but Albus had managed to snake him out of their grasps and made sure that Amos managed to get a relaxant potion from Severus. 

Arabella Figg had also come. The great thing about her was that she was a terrific spy. She had never been one to stand out in the crowd and she could mingle in easily. And since age was on her side, she could act like a crazy old coot and wrangle out information from people that thought she wouldn't remember it in the next second. She was indeed very valuable to the Order and she readily came to all the Order meetings as there was usually very little for people her age to do, and she felt important, which she was.  

Alastor Moody was also a regular at the meetings. Many though he was just an aged wizard, who was so paranoid that he didn't trust anyone and saw dark wizards everywhere – which was partly true, but that didn't mean that he didn't do anything useful. His vast knowledge on the Dark Arts and its practitioners was also very useful to the Order. He was always very wary of Draco, a Malfoy fighting against Voldemort was absurd to him, and they would often end up bawling at each other and having several people holding them back from cursing each other.   

Hermione had also come. She and Ron would often come to the meetings, even if they weren't actually part of the Order. They liked to receive information and see if they could help in anyway. Albus had of course asked them if they would like to become member of the Order, but they had refused. Albus just nodded knowingly. In their fifth year, when they and Harry had come to know about the Order, they had wanted to join, help out in anyway possible. But they were never allowed as the business that was discussed should never be heard by one so young. They had vowed to join the Order, together. But they weren't together. Harry had left, he could be dead, he could be a Death Eater, who knows? But both Ron and Hermione felt that it would only join if Harry was there, it didn't feel right without him. 

Finally, Minerva entered with Hagrid and took a seat by a desk next to Mad-Eye. Albus cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention.

"Well, it seems like Mr Lupin and Mr Black will be unable to join us today. But we will make haste and carry on with tonight's meeting. First on the agenda, the giants." He said. Everyone turned to Hagrid

 "Sorry, Professor Dumbledore sir, I can' stay fer long. The giants are getting bit rowdy at the news I've jus' given 'em. I should probably go there some 'ime soon, ta check up on 'em" Hagrid said, looking at the fire. 

"Bu' jus' ta say tha' they've been given the news." Hagrid replied. 

"Very good Hagrid. Hopefully you won't have to stay up in the mountains too long over the holidays. 

"No' a problem sir, glad to 'elp any time!" Hagrid said as cheerily as he could.  

That was the giants in order. During Voldemort's reign, they had been fierce creatures who killed everything their paths, and the deaths brought upon muggles were particularly gruesome. However, now that Hagrid had managed to seal them on the mountains and give them messages to stay put, they had become restless and their anger sometimes caused tremors in the Earth's crust. 

"Now, that's the giants settled with. How are the dragon's coming along Charlie?" Albus asked him. The second eldest Weasley shook his head with a particularly grim look on his face. 

"Not too good. It's hard enough to keep the wild dragons at rest. Another problem is that dragon eggs are being stolen at an alarming rate, and it's not just from the wild, it's from our actual centre. We also suspect that they've been stolen for one generally reason." Charlie said, frowning. 

"What would that be?" Albus asked.

Charlie's whole expression darkened and he looked positively livid with what he was about to say.

"Genetic experimentation." 

A stunned silence filled the room. Only the crackling of the fire broke the silence, and everyone in the room looked very disturbed at the news. Even Severus who usually showed as much expression as a brick wall. Charlie spoke again.

"If the Dark Lord is really is experimenting on the dragon eggs, who knows how what will happen. Muggles doing it is bad enough, but looking at what muggles are capable of, Voldemort can easily amplify it to be a thousand times worse." Charlie's voice croaked out. 

"What has been done to stop the burglaries of the eggs?" Amos asked.

"We've had curses of all sorts put around the area, traps have been set up and we've even had Unspeakables guarding the centre twenty-four hours a day," Charlie paused and let out a breath, "There has been another way to stop the burglaries, given to me by one of the Unspeakables, but I have forbidden it in the centre."

"What is it? If it can stop the burglaries than surely it's worth it." Arabella commented.

"The sterilisation of the dragons." Charlie stated. "I will not let the dragons be sterilised. They're rare enough as it is, and they only reproduce once in their lifetime." Bill sat contemplating on his brother's words.

"I could try something." He said as everyone's head turned to his. 

"What's that then?" Mrs Weasley asked her eldest son.

"I'm a curse-breaker; I have to deal with the oldest curses known to wizards since ancient times. Before I start breaking the curse, I would have to study it, and that often means actually learning how to _do the curse. And some of the ancient curses are much more efficient than our modern day ones." Bill commented, as he stared at the flames, contemplating the idea._

"The only problem is that it can take as long as a fortnight for a single curse to be completed in full." Bill said again, his eyes looking into the fire, "And I doubt I can do it on my own for two weeks," Bill said, his eyes averting from the flickering flames.

"How is the situation in Egypt? Is it stable?" Draco asked. The red head turned to the albino.

"Yes, mostly. I'll be out of the job soon, I've been putting more curses on things then breaking them," Bill commented. 

"Surely you can take someone with you to help your brother then?" Mad-Eye stated more than asked.

"It's not that simple. None of my co-workers know of the Order, and I have a few shady characters in the department watching me enough as it is. I'll need someone who can understand the basic theory of the spell and be able to take over from me once I tire out," Bill replied. Then something clicked.

"Percy! You're quick at picking things up, I'm sure you could handle this!" Bill said, trying to encourage is younger brother. Everyone waited in anticipation for Percy's reply.

"No harm in attempting it." Percy said under their gazes.

"Alright, we'll leave as soon as we can for Romania," Charlie finalised.

And so the dragons were sorted out.

***

Quiet footsteps and padding paws walked the slushy cobbled streets of Hogsmeade. The man with the amber eyes nodded to the friendly people of the village, easily passing by without any suspicion. His canine friend trotted by his side, his black coat once again gleaming and he had become once again larger in size, almost the size of a small bear. The two headed outside of the small village to the station, very inconspicuously. They passed the edge of the snow touched Forbidden Forest and were within the grounds of Hogwarts. The snow was deep, and both had a little difficulty getting through it.

Remus heard the dog growl in frustration and raised his eyebrow at the dog.

'This would be so much easier if I were on two legs, then I could actually see above the snow.' 

Remus just chuckled at his friend.

'You'll have to wait Padfoot my friend,' he smiled sympathetically as they waded through the snow.

It seemed to take hours but the two finally made it to the Entrance Hall, completely soaked to the bone. Remus pulled out his wand. The dog saw and was about to stop him, but it was too late. They were both dry. And Padfoot now looked like a large ball of fluff. Remus took one look at the dog and burst out laughing, while his friend growled menacingly and looked ready to tear off a limb. Remus tried to recover and hold in his laugh, but it was increasingly difficult as all you could hear was growling coming from a big, found, fluffy black thing.

"I'm sorry Padfoot, but you'd be doing the same if it were me!" Remus said, ruffling the dog's fluffy head.

Then the two headed up the main staircase towards the big octagonal room they knew too well.    

***

A/N: Hi everyone! I was going to write this part of the fic as one long huge chapter, but I thought I'd just break it down a little so that you can take in all the info little by little! I'm sorry for the lack of H/H, but never fear, it _will_ appear! And my new muse (Huw!) has given me an idea for a fluffy H/H moment, so aren't you all lucky!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

**Gary Skinner: **I'm sorry! I meant to write faster, but, school got in the way, and then I had a wee bit of a block. Then I had an idea and now I have to research that idea so it all works out for this fic! So, it really will (hopefully) be worth the wait! ^-^! And about no one being able to recognise Harry, I'm sorry I didn't mention this earlier. You know in Philosopher's Stone, when Petunia cuts Harry's hair dreadfully and it grows back the next day? Well, I always thought Harry would be able to control his looks to a certain degree, and since he doesn't want to be recognised in his fic, he's managed to make himself look as un-Harry like as possible. With the long hair and beard and whatnot. As for the eyes, yes you would expect them to be a vibrant green colour that would make him easily recognisable, but, years in hiding and spying, seeing things that no one should see can do wonders to the eyes. So they'll now appear a murky dark green until he finally comes out as Harry to everyone! I hope that explained everything!


	7. Answers

Chapter 7: Answers.

Both the man and the canine stopped halfway down the long second floor corridor. Their senses were both alert to a scent. A familiar scent. Before Remus knew it, his canine companion had bolted off in the direction of the smell. The man sighed and followed after his friend, jogging slightly to keep up. After a few minutes of winding corridors, and a few staircases, the canine barked at a tapestry, furiously asking for entrance. 

A low rumbling sound, and the tapestry opened, and the walls morphed to the shape on an archway. Standing facing them was Archie. 

"Hello," Archie smiled at the two of them.

At that second, the canine ceased to exist as a man replaced its place. For a while, both black haired men stood in silence and then embraced in a heart-warming hug which all godfathers would do to their godsons.

"My god Harry! You could have contacted us! Almost 5 months with no letter whatsoever!" Sirius scolded.

"I'm sorry, but being on the run, keeping n hiding and then trying to look normal in the public eye was rather difficult." Harry replied apologetically.

"Well the important thing is that you're here," Remus said from behind. Harry smiled at him.

"So, I take it you're here for the Order meeting?" Harry asked.

"Yes, but we're already an hour late, so I think we'd better get a move on." Remus commented looking at his watch.

"I'll come with you."

"You're going to tell everyone?" Sirius asked.

"Yes and no."

***

Worried expressions filled the dark octagonal room where the Order meeting was being held. The news being brought in by each member was particularly worrying. Especially the disturbing news from Arthur Weasley. The Ministry had become a hectic place where everyone had snapped at each other, frustratedly working to stop the ploys which were becoming an alarming occurrence in society. Many outraged howlers would come from the public, questioning the Ministry's way of work and handling the situation. And many a time, Cornelius Fudge had failed to acknowledge them. Arthur reported on how he always stayed inside his office, and only ever came out for meetings. When he did come out, he seemed beyond angry at something or another.

"I really do wonder where his loyalties lie," Arthur said grimly.

"He's too much of a coward to join the Dark Side. They'd kill themselves before they'd let a fool like him join their clan," Moody grunted out, his magical eye swivelling onto Draco. Draco glared at him for his implication.

"Be that as it may, we don't know what's actually going on inside his office. He could probably pull off being on the Dark Side. There are many people who could pull it off." Arthur stated.

"Very well, I will keep an eye on Cornelius in his meetings with me." Albus nodded and the subject was laid to rest.

"That's not the only person you should keep an eye one." Moody growled, both of his eyes staring directly at Draco.

"Do I really seem that suspicious?" Draco asked sarcastically.

"I don't know what you're up to boy, but I'll get down to the bottom of it," Moody glared at him.

"Alastor! Those are his private matters with tasks assigned for him." Albus told him for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Assigned by who?" Moody answered back.

"Think what you want to, I wouldn't give a shit. But I'm working my arse off to settle things down and get to the bottom of matters. I don't ask about your affairs so stay the hell away from mine." Draco said with ice in his voice.  

"Why? Afraid I'll uncover a few skeletons in your closet?" Moody smirked.

"That's enough Alastor." Albus said with a tone of finality in his voice. All though the verbal argument had ended, nothing had stopped the death glares they shot at each other.

An awkward silence. Ginny took this opportunity to talk.

"Speaking of shady characters – Draco's glare was not averted to her, she smiled apologetically – who is that man over here for Hogwarts, erm, that Mr Hemming?" 

"I'm just a very old friend."

Everyone's head shifted to the doorway. There stood three men. Two of which they knew already and the devil himself, Archie. Albus smiled at the three men standing at the doorway. He conjured up seats for them, which they gratefully took.

"Welcome Remus, Sirius, Archie." Albus nodded in greeting.

"Sorry we're late." Remus apologised.

"No problem Remus, not problem at all!" Albus said, letting it pass.

They quickly summarised what was discussed earlier for the sake of the latecomers. Some were sceptical to reveal the information to Archie, but it seemed that Albus trusted the man, so they could trust him also. All three men wore sombre expressions on their faces. All the news given was not leaning to their advantage. Archie frowned at a lot of the news and was glad that the Order had some people to deal with certain situations. 

Archie looked up to see Ron and Hermione looking at him suspiciously. No doubt that Hermione had informed Ron of his odd behaviour at The Three Broomsticks. They didn't seem to be an active part of the Order, but they seemed to want the latest news of what was happening with this war. A small smile crept on Archie's face. They hadn't changed one bit. 

Albus than turned to look at him, quietly asking him if he wanted to submit some of his information in. Archie nodded and stood up to gather everyone's attention. 

"As you can see, the situation is dire. The death toll if rising and even the muggles are becoming suspicious over in Eastern Europe where He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is rumoured to be lurking. And that is where I have been." He started.

Archie glanced at Cuthbert who looked indifferent but nodded very slightly. 

"I've had a co-worker with me, Cuthbert Farthing. And together we have unmasked many things with the training of the Eldar Warlocks." 

A few gasps escaped the Order. The Eldar Warlocks were world renown sorcerer's who had magic of immense power. They only took you into training if you could find them and cope with the tasks they set for you. The powers they taught were colossal, and when you finished your training, you needed a staff to control your magic power flow. A wand became too weak to handle the power you wielded.

"I am no where near the stage of my mentors, but I have been in training for nearly 6 years. But 4 years ago, the Eldar Warlock's, Cuthbert and I were attacked by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named troops. They managed to burn much and destroy many sacred materials. And we became separated. Cuthbert and I managed to escape and reached the forbidden lands of the Necromancers.

They told us that the Warlocks had headed north to the borders of Norway. On our journey there, we were immensely delayed by Death Eater's and other such creatures. After many attacks, we were separated. We managed to keep in contact much of the time. 

About 3 years ago, I was captured by the Death Eaters. They thought I was a spy sent by Albus Dumbledore. But they had failed in their security and I had managed to escape, but with some idea of what the Dark Lord was planning to do.

Apparently, he had been demanding training from the Eldar Warlocks, but they had refused because of his violent nature. But he's been studying into many forms of magic, even the weaker forms that muggles are accustomed to. What I fear is that with his increasing knowledge of magic, there may be no possible way to defeat him. He may eventually become the first mage in a millennia.

After I escaped, I returned to the Necromancers. They had been quite disturbed by this news and asked me to find Cuthbert and set out to find out as much information as possible on muggles magic. They also asked me to contact Albus, and keep him informed of my events.

These past few years, Cuthbert and I have been researching on their magic, while keeping in contact with Albus and the Necromancers. We have learned much of the pagan rituals and of magick. We have also been continually trained by Albus who has kept in contact with the Eldar Warlocks, who are all currently in hiding. I also met up with Mr Lupin and Mr Black on my journeys, and they have supported me in every possible way.

The Eastern European wizards and witches have been evacuated with my orders. And Cuthbert has been here in Britain to house the evacuee's. I have encouraged the wilder creatures to go into hiding already, as that place in no longer safe. The muggle death toll is rising there and if we don't stop He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named soon, we may very well have to say our farewell to the Muggle Population."

Everyone sat in stunned silence. Archie looked emotionally exhausted. The news just starting to sink in. Ginny looked as if she were about to throw-up but sat there, looking pale and shaking a little. She wasn't the only one. Ron looked paler than white and his freckles stood out remarkably. Hermione seemed to tremble with the news. Everyone was shocked at the hardship Archie and Cuthbert had gone through. Cuthbert sat soberly and looked at Archie with a brow raised.

'Are you going to tell them?' Cuthbert's expression asked. Archie furrowed his brow.

'Not yet.'

"Thank you for sharing Archie."

***

A/N: Woo! That was beast of a chapter for me to write. Heavy news isn't it! And I have a few more surprises up ahead, so, should be fun! So. Please review! If you have any questions, I'll answer in the next chapter! If you don't know what a Necromancer is, here's the definition.

Necromancer: Someone who can predict the future by communicating with the dead.


	8. Christmas Day

Chapter 8: Christmas Day.

It had been a long evening, and everyone was exhausted. Albus had offered rooms to the guest who had originally planned on leaving. They smiled thankfully, but expressed that they would like to be with their loved ones on Christmas morning. Albus understood, and left them to go with some gracious snacks that the House Elves had prepared. Amos, Arabella and Alastor all waved their goodbyes and left the enchanted school of magic. Archie and Cuthbert stood in the shadows as they watched the others depart.

"Why didn't you tell them about the other one?" Cuthbert asked bluntly, eyes narrowed as he watched Moody.

"They're not ready to hear that yet." Archie replied watching Arabella leave.

"Have you told Albus? Remus or Sirius?" he asked again.

"I've hinted it to them; I'll leave them to figure it out." Archie said turning to face his companion.

"Archie, are you sure it's the only way? Maybe we could…" He sighed and smiled sadly at his friend.

"It _is_ the only way. And I know that it won't be as bad as it seems."

"If you're really going to do it, maybe you can reveal your true identity to your friends." 

"It would hurt them."

"It'd hurt them even more if you didn't tell them. And then they'd hurt you for not telling them!" a crooked smile showed on Archie's face as he looked down at his feet, wondering what to do.

"You know I'm right." Cuthbert said.

"I know. I hate it when you're right." Archie smiled. "I'll reveal it to them eventually."

With the silent promise, both men retired for the night.

***

Hermione got up groggily and washed her face. She hadn't slept well at all that night, tossing and turning. She had even fallen off of her bed in her quest to find some slumber. She was surprised that Archie hadn't heard her fall, but was half-glad that he didn't.

Archibald Hemming was indeed an intelligible man, despite his appearance. He was blessed to have had some training with the Eldar Warlocks. Maybe she could convince him to teach her something. But there was something about him which disturbed her. He seemed too familiar, yet very secretive. Hermione was sure that he was reluctant to give out any more information last night in the Order of the Phoenix. But she knew better than to accuse him.

Hermione brought out her brush and started tackling at her tangles in her hair. By the time she was finished, her hair was static and standing in all directions. She groaned at the fuzzy mop on her head. Too tired to do anything with it, she tied it in a small loose knot at the back of her head and headed to the living room. To her surprise, the fire was already lit and there was a tray with coffee waiting on the table. She saw Archie sitting on a chair, reading 'The Daily Prophet.'

"Good Morning," he greeted from behind his paper, smiling at her.

"Mornin'" Hermione replied a little groggily. 

Archie folded his paper and poured out some coffee for her, asking her if she wanted cream in hers. She shook her head and thanked him. She sat down in the chair opposite him and sipped from her cup.

"It must have been amazing training with the Eldar Warlocks." She said, looking at him.

"Yes it was. But it was also very painful and tiring. They take no mercy on you when testing your courage, strength and will." Archie replied.

"What sort of things did they teach you?" Hermione asked, quite interested.

"They taught many things. Many potent practises and many dangerous ones also, but they always made sure channelled your powers, made sure you tried your hardest at the weakest aspects of your magic." Archie replied.

"You must have had be disciplined to do all of that." 

"Well yes, but that didn't stop Cuthbert and I having a laugh behind their backs. Of course, we were punished afterwards, but it was worth it." He grinned, and chuckled at the memory of a certain prank with a pungent odour. 

"Men, they never grow up." She muttered rolling her eyes. Archie heard but laughed all the same.

"Oh come on! Don't tell me that you wouldn't be interested to see a warlock with shimmering pink hair!"

Hermione laughed a little at the image forming in her mind's eye. An angry warlock, throwing curses at his two mischievous pupils. 

"Ok, I admit it is funny. But rest assured, if my pupils get any ideas from you, I'll make sure there won't be hair or hide of you left for a forensic investigation."

"Yes ma'am." 

The both of them smiled, and finished their coffee.

***

The Great Hall was decorated in all its glory for Christmas. There were several trees, each decorated with house colours and the fire crackled merrily. The four house tables were set aside, and the High Table was used for meals. A comfy atmosphere was created as couches were set around the fireplace for and a small table here and there for snacks.

Currently, Ron and Draco sat in a challenging game of Wizard's Chess. No one could tell who was winning, but Ron did have the slight advantage over Draco right now. Draco didn't look very happy at that. It had been known that neither of them would easily drop out of the game as they were both equally determined to beat each other at the game. Therefore, a game of Wizard's Chess between the two of them would often last a good 2 hours or so.

"15 Sickles that Ron wins this time." George challenged Ginny, who sat reading a book. The redhead rolled her eyes at her older brother.

"George, shut up. You know I don't gamble, go ask Bill." She said as she turned the page of her book.

"Aw Ginny. You're no fun! Bill's sleeping in the lazy git! So's Charlie for that matter!" He whined. "What are you reading anyhow?" 

"How to get rid of annoying brother's who can't take a hint if it smacks them in the face," Ginny replied irritably.

 "Touchy aren't we? George, better leave her alone. You were nearly scalped the last time she had PMS," Fred warned. Ginny slammed her book shut, and glared at her brothers, ready to curse them with warts instead of freckles.

"If you annoy me one more time, so help me I'll…" She continued with her tirade of threats and curses, as her twin brother's smirked and tried to keep a straight face. Sirius looked very amused at the whole situation, and really tried to stop himself from bursting out laughing. The whole scenario was rather reminiscent to the time he and James had annoyed Lily. Remus seemed to be deeply engrossed in a large chronicle, but even that particular book couldn't hide the amused look on his face.

Archie and Hermione entered the Great Hall and settled down on one of the couches by the fire. They greeted everyone with a Merry Christmas, and were more than surprised when they received an irritable reply from Ginny.

As the snow fell outside, more of the teacher's and guests entered the Great Hall. The Weasley clan were now enjoying the mirth and merriment of Christmas, and a much of the staff entered. Even Professor Snape, who usually treasured the solace of the castle was there conversing with Bill.

Archie watched as his friends exchanged presents, and smiled at there joyful faces. It had been a long time since he had seen them look so happy. Especially Draco who had to deal with so much these past few years. His father was now in hiding, and his mother had died some years back. He was alone in the world, but it seemed liked the Weasley's had accepted him with open arms, despite the hostility they had once shared.

"Merry Christmas Archie." Sirius and Remus said, giving him three wrapped up parcels.

"The third one's from Cuthbert," Remus muttered, so that only Archie could hear. 

"Thank You." Archie smiled, he turned slyly to Cuthbert and smiled at him. He nodded back.

Every one had a good time giving and receiving presents from family. Overall, it was the best Christmas Harry had had in what seemed like centuries. Mrs Weasley had even gone through the trouble to knit Archie a Weasley jumper through the night.

"You're one of us now," Ron had grinned at him.

***

A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating in eons! I really am a lousy author, can't even make the effort to get over a Writer's Block! I'm so sorry, I'll try to update as often as I can. I'm now back on track for this story, but I have exams coming up soon (they always come at the worst times). So my priorities should be my revision, but I'll try to write whenever I can!


	9. Observations of the Truth

Chapter 9: Observations of the Truth.

Archie's walls nearly shattered when he heard Ron say that. 'You're one of us now.' How long had it been since he had had a full family greeting? He had already considered Cuthbert as family, as a brother-in-arms, but now, he was getting greeted by the Weasley's all over again.

Archie grinned at Ron, who had on his navy Weasley jumper. It seemed like Mrs Weasley had ran out of maroon wool. He took off his cloak and pulled the deep red Weasley jumper over his mass of black hair. It was so cosy, something that he hadn't felt like in years. From the High table, the smell of Christmas dinner wafted through the hall, and everyone turned to see all their Christmas favourites ready for the eating. They all headed up to the table, some stomachs rumbling at the mouth watering delights that lay before them.

Archie and Cuthbert walked slowly behind their friends.

"So, will Ron and Hermione get a little Christmas gift today?" Cuthbert asked while they walked up. Archie could've moaned at his friend's persistence.

"Maybe."

"Maybe? What about definitely? You've been given the jumper; you should at least have the courtesy to tell them the truth after that!" Archie looked down at the floor.

"Yeah, I know."

"Well, they have to find out soon; otherwise I'll tell them come New Year's Eve." Cuthbert said warningly.

"Great, I've got a time limit." Archie groaned. 

"Yes, you do. It's already wearing thin." Cuthbert said as he took a seat next to Ron. Archie sat next to him, and Ginny. Once seated, they looked around the table. Some people were missing.

"Where's Hermione?" George asked, noticing the empty seat.

"She's either in the toilet, off to get Professor Dumbledore, or in the kitchen's thanking the elves." Fred muttered. They both started laughing a little.

***

Hermione washed her face again and looked up at the mirror scolding. 'You didn't see it.' She thought angrily to herself. She felt like gouging her eyes out. 'It was probably the light.' She said, and once again rinsed the perspiration off her face. Scrubbing at it until it was red all over. She took one glance at the mirror and muttered 'great.' She took the towel and tried off her face. She looked at herself, in the mirror; she had blotches of redness all over her face. She growled and threw the towel on the ground.

She hadn't had a hallucination like that in a long time.

When Harry had left, she started to see people like him everywhere, until she had actually believed he was here, but ignoring her. It didn't help that she hadn't eaten a lot. It was thought that her not eating helped provoke these. 

Hermione glared at her reflection in the mirror. Angry at herself. When Archie had put on his Weasley jumper, she had _not seen that familiar scar. _

Assuring herself of that, she headed back to the Great Hall, the smell of Christmas Dinner wafting through the corridors. She smiled apologetically for keeping everyone from their meals. Dumbledore was already seated, and smiled as she sat down. He saw her face was a bit red, not from the embarrassment, and chuckled. Whenever she thought she saw something, she always scrubbed at her face.

Everyone tucked into their meals, enjoying the delicious food offered to them. But Hermione found that she couldn't enjoy her food as much as those around her. Her eyes would always surreptitiously scan Archie's forehead, but it was always covered in a mass of black hair. She scolded herself again for looking again and went back to her food. But every time she lifted her eyes, they could scan Archie's forehead over and over again. If Archie noticed it, he didn't mention it.

Hermione then started to make little observations about him. His eyes were hidden behind square glasses. You couldn't really make out their colours. It looked like dull grey from where she was sitting. He had a beard, not a big bushy one like Hagrid, but it was a beard nonetheless. His seemed to get along with everyone around him, talking to the Weasley's like old friends, and he seemed to take a liking to Draco too. That caught her as odd. The Malfoy name was known to be a dark Wizard's name; wouldn't he seem a little more suspicious around Draco? After all, only those very close to Draco knew he was in fact very innocent. Had he confronted Draco before? Hermione shook her head and popped a sprout into her mouth. When she looked up, she received a worried look from Ron.

'Can we talk in private later?'

'Sure.'

Their own silent language. It was always easy to communicate like that without anyone knowing what they were saying. 

***

Hermione and Ron sat down up in her chambers. Hermione poured him some green tea and they both sat in silence for a while.

"Archibald Hemming?" Ron asked all of a sudden. Hermione nodded her head and turned to face him.

"Don't you find him a little suspicious?" She asked.

"Everyone seems suspicious in our world now 'mione. But Albus seems to trust him, so I guess we can trust him too." Ron said. Hermione nodded and took a sip of her green tea.

"Ron?" She asked, "do you see, certain…certain similarities between, him and…and Harry?" Ron remained silent for a while, as if contemplating it for the first time. Hermione looked expectantly at him. Ron looked up.

"I guess so. They kind of have the same hairdo, apart Archie's is a lot messier. And…I guess he kind of talks like Harry does…or use to…"Ron finished.

"He gets on with all of us, even Draco. I'm sure a lot of strangers wouldn't automatically accept Draco as much as we would." Hermione continued taking another sip of green tea.

"Yes, but I'm sure Albus probably told him all about Draco. When we first arrived at Hogwarts yesterday, Archie was talking to Draco outside. They probably sorted out differences then." Ron said figuratively clutching on his cup. 

"I guess…guess you're right. There's no way Archibald Hemming could have been Harry," Hermione said, trying to say that more to herself than to Ron.

"Are you really that sure Hermione?" said a voice from the tunnel entrance of the door.

Both Hermione and Ron snapped their attention to the tunnel entrance. Emerging from the shadows was Archie and Draco. They both looked towards Ron and Hermione with asking expressions.

"What?" Ron asked, brow furrowed. Archie smiled at the two.

"There's more to me than what meets the eye." 

***

A/N: YAY! Another chapter! I feel proud! As soon as I got up this morning, I wrote this, and I'm quite happy with the way they turned out. YEAH! I'm so happy that I managed to get this done! WOOO! 

**Gary Skinner**: I was planning to let the cat out of the bag sooner or later. I'm sorry all the names confused you, but I guess you'll have to get used to Harry and Draco's alter egos! They'll be popping up again for sure! And I'm going to make sure to go read all your stuff! J


	10. Alter Egos

Chapter 10: Alter Egos 

_"There's more to me than meets the eye."_

Those words rang through Hermione's head, Archie could almost see the cogs turning in her head as she analysed the somewhat cryptic statement. Ron looked suspiciously at Archie, and a little bit to Draco, who had a neutral expression on his face, if anything; he looked like he wanted to stay out of the whole situation. He decided to take a sudden interest to the interior design of Hermione's chamber. 

"So what are you saying then? That you're Harry?" Ron asked sarcastically, shaking his head. 

There was a pregnant pause. Draco raising his head to see Archie's reaction. Ron disbelieving. Hermione looking at the only safe place to look at right now, the ground. The answer given wasn't anticipated by the two on the chairs.

"Yeah, pretty much."

Ron and Hermione's head snapped in his direction, eyes as wide as saucers. Draco gave a small smile, and continued to examine Hermione's chamber. Archie smiled at his two old friends and took off his glasses. Muttering a something under his breath, they morphed to the round black glasses that he wore as a student. When he put them back on again, Hermione gasped as his eyes once again shone the vibrant green she had been used to see. He then lifted up a huge mass of his black mop, revealing his forehead, and upon it was the infamous lightning shaped scar. No one could duplicate the extraordinary scar, Harry's scar had always been unique, it tilted at an angle, and the turns of the scar were sharp. A minute change in shade would make the scar look wrong. But the scar currently marring the forehead of Archibald Hemming was flawlessly Harry's. 

There was no doubt, that beneath the shaggy black beard and mop of black hair, their old friend, Harry Potter stood.

Hermione stood up and walked cautiously to the man. Her eyes narrowed every now and then as she walked towards him. She slowly raised her slender left hand and relieved Archie from having to hold his messy fringe up. Harry's hair had always been messy, yet it looked so soft. Archie's hair felt a little bit rougher under her hands, thought that could have been due to amount of travelling he had done. She then looked more clearly at his scar, and gently traced it with her fingers, all the time gazing at it. 

She dropped her gaze to his brilliant green eyes. They were the same shape, and all she saw when she looked into them was hope. Dropping her hand from his forehead, she stepped back, looking down at the ground.

All three men in the room looked at her expectantly.

"You better have a damn good reason for leaving Harry," she said glaring at him.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Ron exclaimed and shot off the couch beside Hermione. He stared incredulously and the man before him. His scrutinizing gaze was enough to make Harry feel a little nervous.

"Would it help if I shaved?" Harry asked feebly, as the tension was tight.

"It would help if we had a bloody explanation," Ron retorted. Harry sighed and nodded. He had expected his friends to be angry, they had every right to be. 

***

All four of them were seated. Ron and Hermione on one side, and Harry and Draco on the other. Another round of tea had been made, and the two waited anxiously to hear of what had happened, and just how Draco had been involved in all of this. Two pairs of brown eyes looked on in anticipation at a pair of green and blue orbs. Harry spoke first.

"It all started at the end of the exams in 7th Year. I guess Professor Trelawney was becoming more of a seer, as anytime I saw her, she would have an _actual_ prediction. –Hermione scoffed – And all her predictions were eerily similar to the nightmares I had _before_ I saw her. I knew it was a bit of a long shot to believe her, but with my own dreams I couldn't ignore it." Harry started.

"Why didn't you tell _us _that? We're supposed to be your friends." Hermione started. 

"I tried to but I couldn't. I couldn't trouble your last few days at Hogwarts with _my _burdens." Harry said simply looking directly at Hermione. She didn't seem too pleased with his answer, but let it pass. 

"I really wasn't too sure what I'd be doing after the summer. And I knew that I would definitely not go back to the Dursley's. Sirius hadn't been pardoned of his charges yet, and I really had no clue what to do. I didn't want to impose on your families either." Harry said.

"You know mum would've loved to have you stay with us until you managed to find a place of your own." Ron commented.

"It's a little more complicated than that. My dreams held warnings to me, and I knew that if I had stayed near any of you two, you'd both be in great danger." Harry replied. He looked at the raised brow of his friends, and took it as a sign to continue.

"Albus noticed my concerns and sent me to his office. He managed to get me talking about my dreams; I was surprised to find out that he had been having images similar to mines." Harry paused, taking a sip of his tea.

"My dreams, Trelawney's predictions, his images, they were all extremely disturbing and we wanted to change the future which could possibly occur. You have to understand, that in these dreams, I was a danger to anyone around me. Albus could sense I was afraid of hurting everyone around me. He told me of warlocks to the East who could help me. Give me a higher education in not only magic, but defence. I had to earn their respect. I had to leave the life I led. Show that there was nothing holding me back from their teachings…I left the night afterwards." Harry said finally.

He looked up at them from his cup and saw a look of shock and sadness showing on their faces. 

"Draco found himself in something of the same predicament." Harry stated and both Hermione and Ron turned to face the blonde man, waiting expectantly to carry on. Draco sighed, feeling a little frustrated, but started on his side of the events.

"Shortly after Harry left, much suspicion was put on my father and I. We had to undergo hours of interrogation, but we knew nothing of what happened to Harry. A few months later, the ministry found my father out as a Deatheater and he went into hiding. Nobody trusted me afterwards." Draco laughed a little bitterly, "Like father, like son. I hate that bloody term." He took a sip of his tea.

"Albus seemed to be the only one who believed I wasn't working for Voldemort and soon afterwards, I managed to become somewhat civil with you two. As weeks passed, Dumbledore also told me of the Eldar Warlocks, and that they had had a recommendation by an Archibald Hemming for me to join them." Both pairs of brown eyes swivelled to Harry.

"I was reluctant to join, as I worried about your well being. So I stayed a little longer, but Archie was ever persistent, and after you two managed to get yourselves remotely together, I left to join Harry in his training. However, I never really played by the Eldar Warlock rules, and frequently came back to check up on news and events here. Once you two had managed to start working, I started to work with Archie in Eastern Europe. I went under the alias, Cuthbert Farthing and we worked together, helping each other out. Until Voldemort attacked us." Draco spat the last part out. "And you heard what happened after than in the Order meeting."

Hermione and Ron nodded in understanding. Hermione put her now cold cup of tea on the table. Ron, just gulped the cold liquid down, and set his cup aside.

"Whoever writes both your biographies is going to be a bloody millionaire." Ron stated, his lips tugged upwards. Harry and Draco couldn't help but grin, Ron could always make the most tense of moments seem light-hearted. 

"It's great that you told us." Ron said, "It's nice to know that you trust us, even if it did take your 8 years." Harry smiled, relieved that one of his best friends had taken it well. Hermione looked indifferent, and that worried Harry.

"I'm going to my room." She stated, and made her way across the chamber.

"Hermione…I-…" Harry started to follow, but Draco held him back shaking his head. Harry looked at him puzzled. They heard the click of Hermione's door.

"She'll come to you when she's ready." Draco  said. Harry looked at Ron, who shrugged.

"Maybe her time of the month?" Ron tried to make Harry feel better.

But Harry couldn't help but feel a little upset, and worried.  It seemed, that during these past 8 years, he had lost the connection to one of his best friends. 

***

A/N: Whoa…you don't know how hard that chapter was to write! I tried to think up of different ways to approach the situation, but this is the only one I'm remotely happy with. Grrr…cliffhangers…I hate them, especially if it's my fic and I have no idea how to write the next part! If I know how to write the next part, then it's no problem. So anyways, explanations are all in this chapter. I hope you understood it! Anyways…what do you think will happen next? How's Hermione going to take this whole situation? What's Harry going to do about it? The only way you'll find out is if you read on…once I get the chapter up that is! Anyways…please do review!


	11. Bleeding Scars

Chapter 11: Bleeding Scars

Harry walked out into the cold grounds. His round glasses were now square again, and his green eyes dull. He sighed a little frustrated and wrapped his robes tightly around him. He cut a path through the thick snow, the hems of his robes and trousers becoming utterly soaked and freezing. He headed out to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and climbed one of the older oak tree's now bare without its leaves. With nimble fingers, he rolled out a cigarette and lit it. It offered very little warmth against the cold, but helped calm down his nerves. 

Out of his two friends, he had expected Ron to take the hissy fit and Hermione to be the one rationalizing. But Ron had taken it surprisingly well, and it had taken but a second for them to become the great friends they had been when they were younger. Hermione was just, she was being difficult. She wouldn't even let Ron come up to her and talk to her, and threw what looked like her bedside table out the door. To say she was angry was the biggest understatement of the century.

But maybe it was for the best. If she was angry at him, then it would be ok for him to go back out to do his job. Ron would probably dissuade him, but Draco could help out there. At least now, both Ron and Hermione could go about their day to day lives knowing that he was still out there. But Harry would have been a lot happier with the knowledge that _both his friends could somehow forgive him for abandoning them those 8 years ago. _

Harry coughed as a cold sharp wind passed by and once again, pulled his robes tightly around him. He raised his cigarette to his mouth and let its qualities calm him. It was then, that a tiny red-breasted robin flew to the branch he was sitting on. He peered at it from under his messy hair and gave a small crooked smile. Digging into his pocket, he took out a biscuit and crushed it in his hand. The robin fluttered into his hand and started pecking at the crumbs and flew away after eating his share, Harry let the rest of the crumbs fall to the ground. 

Green eyes watched the little bird fly towards the castle, passing a familiar window on a familiar tower.

***

Hermione sat with her head in her hands. She felt clammy and stifled, she was sure she looked a state. She rocked back and forth muttering little prayers under her breath, her eyes fixed on a spot on her dark red carpet.

He had actually come back.

She was thrilled at that aspect, but his explanation for leaving had wounded her, and her pride. She couldn't believe that he had left for that reason, had had her worrying and in depression, just to keep her safe! She thought he knew she was a thinker and a fighter, how many times had all three of them faced off with Voldemort and lived? And Harry was never much of a Seer. His dreams couldn't mean anything as big as predicting the future. All his nightmares to date had been repressed memories, none of them whatsoever had had any link to the future. 

Hermione frowned and lay back on her bed, looking up to the canopy of her four-poster bed. Albus had had the same images, even that fraud Trelawney! There was no doubt that Albus Dumbledore was a great wizard, and very powerful, but never in her many years she knew him, had she ever seen Albus show any signs of a Seer. She had noticed the telescopes and star charts that he had had lingering in his office, but those methods were very feeble in telling the future. The earliest magicians had used those tactics, and there was a one in a million chance that the vision predicted would come true. 

Hermione knew that Ron was taking all of this extremely well. If anything, he was calmer than her, when it was usually the opposite way around. But she couldn't help but feel that Draco might have been hinting to him that Harry was still out there. Speaking of Draco, he was Cuthbert? He was a trainee to the Eldar Warlocks? That was hard to believe as Draco wasn't the most disciplined of them. He had a fiery temper, but still, he had his moments when he seemed to be the wisest man on Earth. And she had to admit, he was very graceful with the spells and enchantments that he performed.

But the bare facts had come to her. Some of the closest people she knew had lied to her, and Harry had simply run off because of them. She was simply too weak to handle the situation, and Harry would have to play the hero and save them all.

Hermione's eyes hardened. Complete and utter bullshit. 

***

Draco cursed under his breath as he trudged through the trodden snow. Why did Harry always have to choose the most inappropriate places to sit? Despite his grumbling he had been worried about his friend. When Ron and he had tried to coax Hermione to come out of her room, Harry had quietly disappeared without a word. He had searched the castle. But his sharp eyes had managed to make out Harry's dark figure by the edge of the forest, all the way from the Library windows. Draco's pale face was quite red when he reached Harry. And he looked very disgruntled. 

"Nice walk?" Harry asked, smiling under his beard.

"Oh yeah." Draco replied, rolling his eyes. He grabbed the lowest branch of the tree and swung his way upwards. Harry coughed into his hand.

"I'm catching a cold." He grumbled.

"Serves you right for sitting out here you little bugger. And for making me trudge through all the snow just to find you" Draco muttered and rolled up his own cigarette, grinning at his friend. Harry laughed at him and offered him a light. The two sat in a comfortable silence, a light breeze ruffling their hair. Both looked towards the castle, memorising the vision of it. Every nook and cranny, every lichen covered stone. It was a beautiful and enchanting, especially with the snow sprinkled on the roof top. It had been a long time since Harry had seen the castle. And during the hard times, it was nice to visualise the castle. It was somewhat a place to come home to. Harry's gaze wandered down to the ground below him.

"How's Hermione?" He asked, not looking at the blonde man next to him.

"She's been better. But if I were you, I'd go back to the castle and talk to her." Draco answered back. "But maybe give her a day to cool off." 

"She threw a chair at _you._ Think of what she'll do to _me_." Harry stated.

"Ok, maybe two days." 

"She's a very powerful witch."

"Two and a half days." 

Harry chuckled. He knew he should go and talk to his old friend, but the pure fact that she was a powerful person, and a woman nonetheless was a little nerving. It would almost be as bad as facing off with a female Voldemort. Which was a very scary thought. 

"This is all your fault you know." Harry said as he stubbed out his cigarette.

"How?" Draco asked incredulously.

"If you hadn't talked me into telling them, none of this would have happened and I wouldn't be up here, sitting on this tree catching a cold." Harry explained.

"You didn't need to be sitting on this tree. You could have stayed inside."

"I've been given strict rules not to smoke anywhere inside the castle. Otherwise Albus would have me scrubbing Snape's cauldrons with no magic and have Ginny braid my hair." Draco burst out laughing at the sheer thought of it.  

Without warning, a sharp pain seized through Harry's head. He gasped sharply as his hand touched his scar. It was burning hot with a terrible pain, his vision was becoming extremely disorientated. He fell backwards off of the tree. 

"Harry!" Draco shouted.

Realising that he was falling, he flipped so that he landed on his feet, but as soon as his feet touched the ground, he crumbled onto his knees. Both his hands were now clutching at his head, his skin was becoming redder by the second, and pulsating veins could be seen throbbing from his skin.

Draco landed beside him and knelt to be in level with him.

"Harry! Calm down! You're stronger than this, I know it and so do you!" Draco exclaimed loudly. Harry was now kneeling and shaking quite badly and his breathing rate was irregular and his heart rate was going dangerously fast

"Focus Harry!" Draco shouted, he gripped at Harry's hands and tried to pry them from his scar. 

After a few minutes the shaking finally stopped, but Harry had become as stiff as a board. He removed his hands from his scar, they were blood soaked. But most noticeable of all, his eyes weren't shining in the dark green they used to, they were red. 

"I have to go, now." Harry proclaimed, as he tried to get up. Draco kept him down.

"Hold on, you need to relax now. You can't leave here until that eye colour fades." Draco said looking directly at him.

"What did you see?" Draco asked seriously.

Harry remained silent. He looked down at the ground. His red eyes were so bright, they were reflecting on the snow. The snow was now stained with blood, and Harry could feel a hot trickle of blood flowing, sliding down the side of his nose from his scar. The branches of the old oak tree had scratched his face and ripped parts of his cloak. Some of the scratches were bleeding.  He had stopped shaking, but he felt stiflingly hot, and chillingly cold at the same time. His breathing was becoming deep and slow, his heartbeat was steadying down. He certainly wasn't feeling well, and he was in no fit state to leave the grounds of Hogwarts. As he looked up at Draco, Draco could see the red colour merging into the dark green that they were once before.

"Voldemort nearly died…"

***

A/N: Hi everybody! I'm really sorry for the lack of updates. But I had my exams (which are now finished! Yay!) and I also had a bit of a block! . And I've got ideas for new fics, that just seem to be popping up everywhere. But I can't even start writing them until I finish my other damn stories! But I'm back in the flow of things and hopefully, new chapters should be coming up more frequently…*hopefully*!


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